memory_alphafandomcom-20200223-history
United States armed forces
The United States armed forces were the military services of the United States of America on Earth. The commander in chief of the US armed forces was the President of the United States. History The United States armed forces grew from the military of the American Revolution, with the US military becoming active in several 20th century global conflicts on Earth. Of these, the US armed forces was a major participant in World War I, World War II, and the Brush Wars in Asia. The United States and the Soviet Union also engaged in a decades-long Cold War, where each side was poised to strike and destroy the other through the use of nuclear weapons. Branches of the US armed forces The United States armed forces was divided into four major branches, each in charge of a specific defense area. Specifically, the Air Force patrolled Earth's atmosphere, the Navy its oceans, and the Army was in charge of land defense. The Marine Corps was an amphibious assault force attached to the Navy, much like the MACOs to the Earth Starfleet. The various branches of the US armed forces were: * United States Air Force * United States Army * United States Marine Corps * United States Navy Another branch of the armed forces was the United States Coast Guard, who were credited for assisting in the making of . However, they were never mentioned on ''Star Trek.'' US military personnel Several famous Humans have served as United States armed forces personnel. Among these were such figures as George Washington, Douglas MacArthur, and Norman Schwarzkopf. US military rank insignia See: United States military insignia The uniforms and ranks of the United States armed forces were represented in a variety of ways, most often as metal pin insignia or, in the case of the Navy, stripes on the uniform sleeve. The later pattern of Starfleet rank pips is based on the sleeve rank insignia of the United States Navy. The United States armed forces also maintained a number of military awards to award heroism or meritorious accomplishment by its members. Appendices Background *A majority of Star Trek personalities have served in the United States armed forces, the largest number being Original Series actors, producers, and writers, with service in the Second World War. Likewise, some of the more famous Star Trek military veterans, such as DeForest Kelley, Gene Roddenberry, and many others from this time period, have no military records due to a major fire in 1973 which destroyed 18 million military files at a federal records center in St. Louis. http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html *While a large number of Star Trek personalities served in World War II and the Korean War, background actor Newell Tarrant is the only Star Trek actor known to have served in the Vietnam War. *None of the actors who have portrayed Starfleet captains in the major series (Shatner, Stewart, Brooks, Mulgrew, or Bakula) have ever served in the military. William Shatner, however, did appear as an Army captain opposite Spencer Tracy (who served in the US Navy during World War I) in the film Judgment at Nuremberg shortly before Shatner's apperance in Star Trek. *While never having served in the military, Michael Dorn has spent many years involved with the Civil Air Patrol and is a skilled and accomplished pilot. *James Doohan is the only known Star Trek actor to have served in an armed force other than the United States military, this being the Canadian Army and Air Force during World War II. ''Star Trek'' personalities with military service Sources: United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Index Files, & National Archives and Records Administration (NPRC); St. Louis, Missouri. External links * * (absorbed the United States Space Command in 2002) *US Military rank structure at CombatCasting.com Category:Earth agencies de:US-Streitkräfte